Changed
by LadyCressa
Summary: This fic follows Goku from an alternate timeline and his and his family's last minutes before Zamasu stole his body and became Goku Black. Inspired by a Tumblr post. [G/CC]
1. Goku

**Changed**

Taking a short break half way through tilling the field, I wiped away the sweat pouring down my face with the towel draped around my shoulders. All things considered, farming wasn't exactly tiring work for a Saiyan, but that didn't mean I didn't work up a sweat in that heat.

Chichi would be happy. The harvest was going to be right on schedule at the rate things were going so I figured I earned a short break.

My stomach rumbled and Goten laughed from his seat on a stump just off the field I was working on. He was drawing pictures for a school project – something about drawing his family at their jobs. He drew a great one of Chichi in the kitchen, one of Gohan studying, and then he was working on one of me, but refused to show me until he was finished with it.

I didn't think he'd mind a break, but before I could ask, his stomach rumbled and he blushed slightly.

I chuckled. "How about we go see what your Mom is making for lunch?"

He closed his sketchbook and nodded, grinning. "Yeah!"

A glow surrounded me out of the blue and then I was frozen in place but the glow faded too fast for any concern to set in. There wasn't a spike of energy like if I had just been attacked. At least, I didn't sense anything.

"Daddy!"

I raised an eyebrow at his confused tone and wide eyes.

Strange.

It had only lasted seconds, but I felt… very different all of a sudden. I was pretty sure I wasn't hurt. I couldn't place just why, but I definitely felt… _off_.

I glanced down at myself. All seemed normal.

And then did a double-take.

I lifted my hands up and looked them over. Why in the world were my hands… green?

Goten said something and flew off but – confused as I was as I stared at my hands – I didn't hear him. I touched my face. Probing. Looking for some sign of something familiar. Expecting to feel skin slightly leathery and rough with tiny scars but only encountered soft skin. Skin that wasn't mine.

That was it. I wasn't in my body.

But if I wasn't in my body, then where was it?

"Do you see, Mom? He glowed for just a second and then just… looked like that!"

I glanced up at Goten's voice just in time to see a very wide-eyed Chichi and Goten land right in front of me.

She ran up to me. "G-Goku? Is that… really you? Why did this happen?"

"I don't know." I held my hands up, palms out. "But it's me, Chichi! I swear! It's me!"

That wasn't my voice.

"But–!"

"You are now only Goku in heart to be exact."

That _was_.

Standing several paces behind Chichi and Goten was… a man who looked exactly like me!

When I looked into my – no, _his –_ eyes… whoever he was… evil was as clear as day and my guard was immediately up, reaching for my power as was second nature, my eyes widening at just how _little_ I had. He held my gaze for several moments before eyeing Chichi and Goten with a bloodthirsty smirk.

Chichi shuddered while Goten slid a foot behind him and toward me, whimpering, "Daddy…?"

"Goku… What's–"

Then, a spark of energy that grew to envelop his hand in a matter of seconds and I grabbed their arms, pulling them behind me, my heart galloping in my chest. I knew exactly how much power and speed that body held. Unfamiliar to him or not… I didn't stand a chance. No alien frog to save the day.

My heart sank as I waved Chichi and Goten away. Maybe I could hold him back just long enough…

A blur of movement and before I could react – even blink – something was shoved _through_ me and blinding, searing _agony_ exploded _._ I couldn't breathe, my world tipped as someone screamed my name, and then everything went black.

* * *

I knew exactly where I was before I even opened my eyes. The familiar voice of King Yemma serving sentences and occasionally shouting "NEXT!" floated to my spot in the short line just outside of the Check-in Station for Other World.

The giant doorway was just a dozen dead people ahead of me. The line moved forward a step.

"Lady! Yes. We're–"

Jumping at the harsh tone behind me, I spun around. And then froze.

Her back was to me, her knees on the paved brick path, arms tightly wrapped around Goten, his face buried in her shoulder, both shaking hard.

 _Cowering._

Did my…?

I couldn't bring myself to finish that thought.

"DON'T KEEP ME WAITING! I SAID _NEXT_!"

An insistent tap on my shoulder and I glanced at a nervous light blue ogre. "You better get going. There's a long line growing quickly behind you. Besides that, you _really_ don't want to make King Yemma angry. Believe me."

Nodding once, I walked to them and pulled Chichi up on shaky legs with little Goten still in her arms, and put an arm around her shoulders. I led her numbly into the Check-in Station and approached King Yemma's desk.

He stared at me for the longest time with an eyebrow raised. "You _can't_ be… Goku…?"

He flipped a chunk of pages in the massive logbook resting open on his desk and then paused on one, sliding a finger down the list of names and his eyes widened. "It really _is_ you! Says here your body was stolen through a wish and then you were murdered by the entity who stole your body."

His surprised expression fell into one of pity as his voice softened. "I assume you know none of this can be undone and that the Dragon Balls have been destroyed." He paused, stamping something in his logbook. "I'm sorry, Goku. I really am. Well… you know the drill…"

Nodding, I dropped my gaze to the floor at my feet and sighed miserably – not that dead people really needed air.

"Son Chichi and Son Goten–"

"Hurts… too… tight… Mommy…"

I tightened my arm around Chichi's trembling, stiff shoulders.

"–two pure hearted, good people and wife and youngest son to the hero of the universe. You both can keep your bodies. Consider that a gift of sorts for being his family. Welcome to Other World." He slammed his stamp down twice in his logbook. "Heaven. NEXT!"

A painful lump lodged itself in my throat as soon as King Yemma's attention was off of us. My body was… _stolen_ from me… and then…

Keeping an arm around her shoulders, I clenched my jaw and led her outside. My eyes were burning but I forced myself to keep going. We only made it a few steps before my legs refused to keep moving and then failed on me altogether.

When two pairs of arms wrapped around me the moment my legs failed and a gentle hand pressed my head into her shoulder, my heart shattered, the pain unbearable, tears coursing down my face.

Seeing them _cower_ like they did in line, their eyes squeezed shut in pain and fear… That image was permanently burned into my mind… something I would never, _ever_ forget. And I had _eternity_.

It wasn't a big leap to picture their expressions when _he_ came for them. Eyes wide. In confusion. In terror. Chichi shielding Goten. Their screams.

The scenes my mind easily drew grew more horrific with every iteration, no end in sight and I was _angry_. Angry at who did that to them. Angry because it was _my body._ Angry because there was _nothing I could do._ No do-overs. That was… _it_.

My fingernails dug into my palms.

What I wanted to do was say how _sorry_ I was. To tell them I loved them. But the words refused to come out of my raw throat no matter how much I tried to force the issue, leaving me only capable of mouthing the words into her slight shoulder.

Chichi's arms tightened around me, and lips were pressed on my forehead and her cheek rested on my head. Maybe she understood. She always could read me better than anyone.

Goten squirmed between us and hugged me tighter, too, his small arms wrapped as far as they could go around me. He was talking to me, but his voice was muffled – sandwiched between us like he was. I was crying too hard to make out what he was saying, anyway.

It took a while, but being rocked and the soothing strokes on my back helped me gain just enough control to force my voice to work and I was able to choke out, "Chichi… Goten… I'm sorry… I'm _so sorry_ …" before I fell apart again.

Chichi's arms lifted off me, gentle hands coming to rest on my shoulders a few seconds and then on my cheeks, lifting my face up to look at the comforting smile she wore. Thumbs swept across my cheeks and lips were pressed on my forehead.

Seizing his chance no longer being pinned between us, Goten kissed my cheek. "It's not your fault. I love you, Daddy."

Those two simple sentences whispered into my ear by my youngest broke me all over again.

Chichi brushed her thumbs over my wet cheeks and kissed my forehead. "Goten's absolutely right. You have nothing to apologize for, Sweetheart. We're together here, and something tells me we'll never have to be apart again. I love you, Goku."

I couldn't make my voice work a second time. Couldn't make myself say 'I love you, too,' so instead, I held her tight and Goten, too. Chichi was right. I was never going to leave them again. We had… the rest of _eternity_ together. I wasn't sure I'd ever be able to let them out of my sight – if I was even capable of letting go of them at all. All I could hope for was someone somewhere would be strong enough to _kill_ _him_.


	2. Chichi

**Chichi**

"Ah! Lunch is almost ready!"

After clicking off the last burner on our stove, I turned and grabbed the fish out of the oven, decing the roast needed a few more minutes. I set the timer for three minutes on the dot and went about slicing up the fish. Once that was done, I took a moment to admire my handiwork all set on the table and ready to eat, waiting on only two more dishes to finish cooking.

I was so proud of my Goku for working so hard on our farm, I cooked him all his favorites. Every last one of them. Goten and Gohan had the same favorite foods as their father, and Gohan sometimes stopped by to visit and eat, but he was too busy with his job to join us for lunch that day. Gohan always was a hard worker and I was very proud of him, too. Even Goten was finishing up his homework and the required drawings of his family members working at their jobs. It was a good day.

The timer dinged and I grabbed a pair of hot mitts to get the roast out. Opening the oven, I carefully reached in and pulled it out at the same second the front door banged open.

I knew exactly who it was without needing to look, already frowning. "Son Goten! What have I told you about slamming the front door!?"

Quick footsteps dashed into the kitchen. "Sorry, Mom! But something's wrong with Dad! You gotta come out here! Quick!"

Whipping around at his words, the first thing I noticed was the wide-eyed panic on my youngest son's face. My anger fizzled out as my heart jumped in my throat.

I nodded at Goten and followed him outside, my mind racing. Was my Goku sick? Did he run off somewhere and get hurt? Was he _dying_?

The moment we were out the door, Goten hovered a few feet into the air. "It'll be fastest if I fly and carry you."

I nodded again as he awkwardly picked me up around the armpits and lifted me into the air and we zipped away, my dress snapping in the wind. A minute later, our farmland came into view and I immediately hunted around for the tan work suit Goku always wore while working the farm.

I spotted the suit with little trouble, but not the untamable black hair I was expecting. Even from that distance, the man wearing my husband's suit had light green skin and a thick Mohawk of white hair. Once Goten landed us right in front of him, I noticed the inhuman slant to his eyes, and the points of his ears. But he didn't look like one of Piccolo's kind. Why was whoever that was wearing Goku's clothes?

"Do you see, Mom? He glowed and then just… looked like that!"

It couldn't be. There was no way… I had to find out. To see for myself.

"G-Goku? Is that… really you? Why did this happen?"

"I don't know but it's me, Chichi! I swear! It's me!"

That wasn't my husband's voice.

Walking up closer with Goten right behind me, Goku's expression was one of confusion that changed to sincere earnestness. "It's me, Chichi! Honest!"

Looking in those eyes – those eyes that weren't my husband's and yet somehow _were_ – I knew Goku was somehow in that green man standing in front of me.

Goku's expression hardened just slightly, his confusion still present but mixed with an expression of intensity he saved only for fights. Even on that strange, unfamiliar face, it was an expression I knew just as well as his earlier confusion. In that same second, a very familiar voice spoke up several paces behind me:

"You are now only Goku in heart to be exact."

I whipped around, to find myself staring at someone who looked just like my husband with my jaw hanging slightly open.

I was struck first by his eyes. Those eyes were _not_ my husband's.

Cold. Calculating. Gone was the warmth he carried. The ever present happiness. The tenderness reserved only for me and his sons. All of it… gone.

His lips curled up into a sadistic smirk utterly foreign on that face and a chill went down my spine.

"Daddy…?"

I turned around to face the strange green man who _was_ apparently my husband. "Goku… What's–?"

A strange crackle in the air and then a hand grabbed me gently but firmly by my upper arm, and – before I could blink – he was planted protectively in front of Goten and me, and shifted into a fighting stance. He waved us away.

Between one second and the next, there was a piercing scream of pain and then a sword of energy protuded from Goku's back as he crumpled to the ground and my heart dropped.

I was too shocked to breathe… to move… or even think.

I knew… he was gone. Just like that.

And I couldn't stop the tears welling up in my eyes.

Goten let out a heart broken, "No…"

Then, the voice that just that morning was sweetly telling me how delicious breakfast was spoke two simple words in a tone that was equally as alien from that body as his expression: "Your turn."

I spun on my heel, instinctively grabbing Goten and running for it – knowing deep down we wouldn't get away.

A sickening chuckle _inches_ behind us. We screamed in terror. In _agony_. And then it was over.

* * *

Cracking an eye open and then the other from our spot on the ground… no… paved brick path, I stared at a line of tiny clouds buzzing with chatter and floating in a long line behind us.

Where…?

" _Lady_! Yes. We're dead. And so are you. No would you turn around and kindly _walk forward_. You and your kid're holdin' up the line and apparently you haven't noticed, it's grown rather long!"

Dead…?

No.

That couldn't be right.

I was just at our field with…

I sucked in a breath at the sudden rush of memories.

Goku!

I jumped up and scanned the line behind us but didn't see him. I spun on my heel, Goten still in my arms – the sudden movement and resulting dizziness not helping my disorientation one little bit.

The moment I turned around, I saw him. A glittering, golden halo floated over his white hair. We really _were_ dead!

Goten twisted around in my arms. "Daddy!"

Goku's hand twitched toward us at the sound of Goten's voice, eyes wide and staring at us. Otherwise, his face was unreadable.

"DON'T KEEP ME WAITING! I SAID _NEXT_!"

I sucked in a breath at the deep, booming yell, Goten cringing into me, shaking – or maybe it was the floor. Or both.

An ogre-like man tapped Goku on the shoulder and said something to him I was too far away to catch.

Goku nodded once and walked toward us, his steps oddly mechanical. When he reached us, he pulled me up on my shaky legs while I held Goten. With his arm locked around my shoulders, I took my first shaky steps since arriving.

He led me through a massive doorway and into a giant room with a very, very high ceiling. Fuzzy memories – like those of a dream – emerged of the only other time I had ever seen the place. A vaguely familiar, enormous, very intimidating crimson man in a dark blue suit with white horns sprouting out of his head peered down at us, wearing an odd sort of expression. Almost like he was trying to place where he had seen us until recognition flashed across his face.

"You _can't_ be… Goku…?"

He made a sudden grab for a large, thick tome just barely in view from our place on the floor far below and slid it in front of him. A loud thud rang out as he let the cover fall open followed by the loud rustling of paper as several pages were turned. "It really _is_ you! Says here your body was stolen through a wish and then you were murdered by the entity who stole your body."

His shocked expression drooped into one of sorrow. "I assume you know none of this can be undone and that the Dragon Balls have been destroyed." A pause and a loud thud and he gently continued, "I'm sorry, Goku. I really am. Well… you know the drill…"

Goku only nodded and dropped his sad gaze to the floor. I didn't miss the sigh that slipped out of his lips.

"Son Chichi and Son Goten–"

"Hurts… Too… tight… Mommy…"

Goku's arm tightened around my shoulders and I made my arms relax a little bit.

"–Two pure hearted, good people and wife and youngest son to the hero of the universe. You both can keep your bodies. Consider that a gift of sorts for being his family. Welcome to Other World." Two loud thumps and: "Heaven. NEXT!"

Goku led us out a different doorway from where we entered.

Just a few steps out of the building, Goku slowed and then stopped. Seconds later, his knees buckled, pulling Goten and me down with him.

One look at his face made my heart jump into my throat. Unfamiliar body or not, that wasmy Goku in there and his eyes were welling up fast. I threw my arms around him as Goten did the same, and rested a hand on his head, pressing his face into my shoulder. And then Goku broke down, his shoulders jerking with each quiet sob.

Working on instinct, I hummed Goten's favorite lullaby as I rubbed Goku's back and held him tight – barely registering the chaos of spirits rushing by us to their eternal destinations, chattering with disembodied voices as they rushed, none noticing us at all.

Still, he cried. I had no idea how much time passed. Where we were, time didn't matter one little bit, anyway. I wasn't about to let him go. Goten and I would hold him as long as he needed it and not a second shorter than that.

Goku tried hard to say something through his tears but no sound came and I didn't have it in me to push him away long enough to find out. Instead, I squeezed him tighter, rocking him back and forth and rubbing his back, planting small kisses on his forehead.

It almost seemed like he was apologizing. Nothing that happened our last minutes was his fault. Not even a little bit.

Goten seemed to pick up on it, squirming to wrap his arms as far around Goku as he could get. "Don't be sorry, Daddy!"

Goku didn't show any signs of hearing him.

Still, I rocked him and rubbed his back.

Slowly, his sobs slowed just a little bit and he shifted against me. "Chichi… Goten… I'm sorry… I'm _so sorry_ …"

Finally able to get that out, he wept harder than before, but that time I needed him to look at me. I unwound my arms, my hands going to his shoulders and then up to his cheeks, tilting his face up so he could see mine and the loving smile I gave him.

Goten wriggled up to kiss Goku's cheek and took the words right out of my mouth. "It's not your fault. I love you, Daddy."

I brushed away his tears – only for more to take their place – and kissed his forehead. "Goten's absolutely right. You have nothing to apologize for, Sweetheart. We're together here, and something tells me we'll never have to be apart again. I love you, Goku."

Goku's arms wrapped around Goten and me, holding us tight, his face pressed into my shoulder. I don't know how long we stayed like that. It didn't matter. I was content to hold him and be held by him as spirits rushed past us. We had forever. There was no more need for separation ever again.

 **End.**

* * *

I wanted to dive into Chichi's head here, too. So another his and hers fic!

Okay so I'm not dead, guys! XD Yep and back and have lots of new stuff in the works. Lots of stuff came up IRL and been busy, but I'm back. :D


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